Daniel Erskine McIvor

Daniel Erskine Mclvor, C.M. was born on August 30, 1911, in Killarney, Manitoba. In 1925 his family moved from their home in Winnipeg to Fort William, Ontario.

Mclvor began his career in a bank, not a cockpit. Since he could not afford flying lessons, he began flying in a friend's home-built Corben Junior Ace. Using the knowledge gained from a welding course, he decided to build his own Corben Junior Ace. In spite of his father's reservations, the home-built aircraft passed Ministry of Transport inspections.

Mclvor had not quite finished the Corben when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1939 as a Carpenter Rigger, with a Group B classification, and was posted to Air Navigation School in Trenton, Ontario. Still longing to become a pilot and serve his country, he re-mustered to pilot training in December 1940, having just received his private pilot's licence.

He moved on to No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) at Fort William, Ontario, where he trained on Tiger Moths. From there, he trained on Harvards at No. 2 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at Uplands, Ontario. He earned his wings and Sergeant Pilot rank in June 1941. Overseas orders arrived, and from Transit Camp in Iceland, he moved on to Bassingburn, England. Due to illness, he was first grounded, then placed on tower duty and eventually shipped back to Canada in 1942. After a refresher course at Rockcliffe, Ontario, in July 1942, he was posted to No. 8 Bombing and Gunnery School in Lethbridge, Alberta.

After a year as Staff Pilot, he requested a transfer to No. 124 Squadron (Ferry Command) in Ottawa in November 1942. He then returned to Lethbridge as a ferry pilot in 1943. In September of that year he was commissioned as Pilot Officer, and a month later, promoted to Flying Officer. In January 1945 he was discharged, with a rank of Acting Flight Lieutenant.

Immediately after the war, Mclvor worked in a variety of jobs, eventually earning his instructor's rating and becoming a charter pilot in British Columbia. He worked for various airlines in BC, including L & M Air Services at Vernon, Queen Charlotte Airlines, and Central BC Airways, later known as Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) and then as Canadian Airlines International.

In 1954 Mclvor volunteered with five other pilots to fly Beavers, Norsemans and Junkers 34s aircraft in the Arctic during the initial stages of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) construction. Until 1956 he worked with the British Columbia Forest Service, transporting fire-fighting crews and supplies to fire sites. The idea of fighting forest fires from the air was by now firmly planted in Mclvor's mind.

In 1956 Mclvor began flying a Grumman G-21 Goose for MacMillan Bloedel. When he joined this company he was appointed to a committee composed of representatives of nineteen logging companies and the BC Forest Service. The committee's goal was to develop improved methods for fighting forest fires.

Mclvor began by dropping water-filled bags from M & B's Grumman, the first time that an aircraft was used to extinguish a forest fire in British Columbia. Immediately the BC Forest Service installed rotating tanks on the floats of a de Havilland Beaver owned by Vancouver U Fly, owned by the Michaud Brothers. Realizing that this system did not carry enough water, Mclvor began looking for a larger aircraft that could carry more water. The answer, he believed, was flying boats.

The flying boat had largely outlived its usefulness in commercial service by the late 1950's and few remained at that time. However, in 1959 Mclvor found that four Martin JRM-1 Mars aircraft remained in existence, the "Philippine", "Caroline", "Marianas", and "Hawaii", all located at the San Diego Naval Base. The aircraft were US Navy surplus and destined for the scrap yard when Mclvor discovered them.

MacMillan Bloedel initially turned down Mclvor's recommendation that the surplus Martin Mars aircraft be purchased from the US scrap metal dealer. After a second proposal was submitted, the company finally agreed to purchase and convert the four Mars aircraft. The total purchase price for all four aircraft was $100,000 US. They had been purchased originally by the US Navy for $3.5 million (US) each.

In addition to purchasing the four aircraft, Mclvor also ordered 90 tonnes of spare parts and several aircraft engines, all at bargain prices. Other bargains included forty-four filing cabinets full of maintenance records and drawings.

A consortium of six B.C. forest companies, including MacMillan Bloedel as principal shareholder, was formed to oversee the conversion of the Mars flying boats into water bombers. The new company was named Forest Industries Flying Tankers Limited (FIFT).

A lengthy conversion process then began in British Columbia. The Mars were each equipped with a 6000-gallon (27,276 litres) fibreglass and wooden tank. Two retractable scoops for picking up water were attached on either side of the keel, allowing the aircraft to take on water while 'on the step'. Two dumping hatches were then installed through the nine-foot square freight doors in the sides of the aircraft. The result was a 73,483-kilogram (162,000 Ib.) aircraft capable of carrying 30 tonnes of water.

From 1959 to 1966 Mclvor served as Chief Pilot for FIFT at Sproat Lake, near Port Alberni on the west coast of Vancouver Island. His first task was learning to fight forest fires with the massive water bomber. He developed a communication system that is still used today. Daily patrols are flown by helicopters during hazardous periods. They are used to spot and report new fires and are equipped with bambi buckets to fight small fires. For larger fires, the FIFT Grumman Goose is called in to survey the scene. The Goose then relays information to the Mars crew and guides it to the fire's location. Water 'bombs', consisting of thirty tonnes of water and foam concentrate, are then dropped precisely onto the fire.

In 1966 Mclvor resigned from FIFT to return to commercial aviation. Until 1967 he was Manager of the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) Division of Pacific Western Airlines in Vancouver. He became Director of Hercules Operations for PWA in Edmonton in 1969. Until his retirement in 1973, Mclvor concentrated on promoting the benefits of the Hercules aircraft for transporting large cargoes of goods across the world.

His pioneering and innovative efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 1998 the BC Aviation Council presented McIvor with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Aviation. During his 35-year career in aviation, he logged over 11,500 hours and flew over 50 different types of aircraft. He died at Richmond, BC on February 24, 2005 at the age of 93.

Daniel Erskine McIvor inducted as a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002 at a ceremony held in Vancouver, B.C. and was invested as a member of the Order of Canada in 2004.